What began as two short stretches of painted asphalt in Parc-Extension has turned into one of Montreal’s most politically charged street fights — pitting cyclists, drivers, and candidates against one another over how the city’s arteries should breathe.
At the center of the storm are the bike lanes on Ball and Querbes avenues, installed in 2023 as part of a wider effort to make cycling safer in dense neighborhoods. The lanes carved out roughly 200 on-street parking spots, and while supporters saw them as a long-overdue step toward greener mobility, others saw an unforgivable loss of already scarce parking.
Now, as Montreal’s municipal campaign heats up, the future of those lanes is once again up for grabs.
A Campaign Message Lights the Fuse
The spark came from Mary Deros, veteran councillor for Parc-Extension and a candidate for re-election under Ensemble Montréal, who recently sent residents a message promising to “bring back parking on both sides” of Ball and Querbes.
The statement was quickly amplified online, where critics accused Deros’s party of trying to woo frustrated motorists by quietly undermining the city’s active-transportation plan.
When asked for clarification, Ensemble Montréal’s mayoral candidate Soraya Martinez Ferrada did not back down entirely, but offered a careful distinction: adding parking, she said, “doesn’t automatically mean removing a bike lane.” Her team insisted that a safety review of the entire cycling network is planned if the party wins office.
The Incumbents
Projet Montréal, which currently governs the city, said it’s physically impossible to have both full-time parking and protected bike lanes on the same narrow streets.
City engineers have previously confirmed that the removal of parking was required to leave space for emergency vehicles, in line with Montréal’s fire-safety standards. A one-way conversion was considered but dropped after consultations.
A Neighbourhood of Tight Streets and Tighter Opinions
Parc-Extension is one of Canada’s most densely populated areas, a tight grid of duplexes, small businesses, and apartment blocks where every meter of curb space is contested. Residents say finding parking at night can feel like “winning the lottery.”
Some argue that cycling infrastructure should adapt to the neighborhood’s unique constraints rather than copy solutions from wider downtown boulevards. Others counter that residents deserve the same safety standards as any other part of the city — and that climate-friendly transport shouldn’t stop at the tracks of Parc Avenue.
For now, the lanes on Ball and Querbes remain painted, bollarded, and used daily by commuters and delivery cyclists alike.
A Divided City Over a Few Hundred Metres of Asphalt
The dispute may seem local, but it reflects a broader identity crisis for Montreal’s mobility future.
Recent polling shows Montrealers nearly split down the middle: 49 percent approve of the city’s cycling expansion, 43 percent disapprove. Among business owners in nearby Ahuntsic and Chabanel, nine out of ten say new bike lanes have hurt access for suppliers and customers.
Mayor Valérie Plante, seeking to hold ground, warned that reversing progress on active transport “would send the wrong signal for Montreal’s future.” Her opponents accuse her of ignoring the everyday struggles of drivers and merchants.
The Road Ahead
No official proposal has been tabled to remove the Parc-Extension bike lanes, but the language of “re-evaluating” and “restoring parking” has cyclists worried that small administrative tweaks could quietly chip away at infrastructure gains.
Urban-mobility experts caution that consistency is key.
As the November 2 vote nears, Montrealers will have to decide not only who runs City Hall, but what kind of city they want to drive — or ride — through.
